Māori is descended from the great Polynesian sea-farers who swept across the Pacific Ocean. Arriving in New Zealand around 750 years ago. These ancestors arrived on a waka.
Māori society was vibrant and dynamic from the outset. The ancestors were quick to adapt to their new homeland, a rugged and temperate environment very different from the small tropical islands they had departed. There were challenges, many relating to the cooler climate, but also some grand opportunities.
The descendants of the Polynesian voyagers became Tangata Whenua, the people of the land, the indigenous people of Aotearoa (New Zealand). By the time New Zealand was “discovered” by Europe in 1642, Māori culture was vibrant and unique, tied to and inseparable from the land itself.
Māori society was organized into more-or-less autonomous communities, connected through complex networks of kinship ties and alliances. Communities were loosely grouped into tribes decided by a common descent, from an ancestor. The iwi was the largest unit of Māori society. There was no permanent office of “paramount chief” at the level of the iwi. Decisions were reached through negotiation among chiefs and family leaders. Formal meetings were held to discuss important issues.
Personal status was strongly influenced by genealogy and gender. Males were superior to females, elder siblings superior to younger siblings. The status of a person was based on the level of mana they possessed. Leadership in Māori society was not determined through inheritance alone. A rangatira who failed to lead his hapu to success would suffer a loss of mana and therefore power.
Māori communities were formed by hapu (or several hapus), under the leadership of a rangatira whose mana offered them protection. Intermarriage between high-ranking men and women was one way to strengthen kinship ties and promote friendly relationships.
The authority of a chief extended over a particular area. It was here that his hapu built their houses, planted gardens and stored their food supplies. Members of the hapu would work together to carry out large-scale projects, such as making a canoe, clearing land. Each family would share a sleeping house, and the grandparents would focus upon looking after the children while the parents worked. The kaumatua (eldest male) was the leader of his whanau, and his wife also had a great deal of influence.
In the absence of an overarching system of governance, Māori society was ordered and organized according to tikanga. Tikanga can be loosely translated as “customs”, but it really means more than that. Tikanga is the prescribed and correct way of doing things, and it governed almost every aspect of Māori life.
Mental illness, especially depression, has consistently been the most important factor in suicide. In the 19th century, if you were to be caught trying to commit suicide or if you actually did people would make the verdict that you were just insane.e. Between nineteen hundred and nineteen fifties research/evidence of mental health issues among two in five women and more than one in six men who killed themselves came about. Depression among women could be caused when experiencing events such as menopause or childbirth. Depression Among men the effects of war were significant. Physically and emotionally traumatized by the First World War. Studies show that over 600 men killed themselves after the war.
In the early 2000s, researchers concluded that up to 70% of people committing suicide or attempting it was suffering from mental health issues.
In the early years of European settlement of New Zealand, suicide rates were fairly low but there was clearly some disguising of suicide, for example as “accidental drownings”.
Alcohol and drugs
Alcohol was a major factor in suicides among men. About one in eight male suicides suffered from the effects of drinking. mostly heavy drinking was connected with unemployment or marital troubles. A study shows that young teens of Christchurch who tried to attempt suicide, were under the substance of liquor, 31% had symptoms of alcohol abuse and 12% of cannabis dependence. In nineteen eighty there was often a combination of factors – a disrupted or unhappy family background, mental illness, and drug or alcohol abuse.
Life crisis
Suicidal attempts were sometimes caused by life crises. Sometimes it could be triggered by the death of a close relative or it could have been triggered due to a breakdown in a romantic relationship. Between nineteen hundred to nineteen fifty romantic rejection was the cause of almost one in five male suicides and one in three female suicides.
There is also some evidence that people who are gay, lesbian or bisexual have a greater risk of suicide, perhaps because social prejudices increase the likelihood of depression.
In the early nineteen-nineties concern about rising levels of youth suicide in New Zealand began a period of concerted research and action. In nineteen ninety-two the Ministry of Health assembled a workshop, and in ninety ninety-four issued an important report about the concerns of the high youth rates on suicide. In ninety ninety-eight the Ministry of Health alongside with Ministry of Youth Affairs and Te Puni Kōkiri (the Ministry of Māori Development) issued a youth-suicide prevention strategy. Some interesting initiatives followed, including SPIN, a suicide-prevention comic book for young people by cartoonist Dylan Horrocks; and SPINZ (Suicide Prevention Information New Zealand), which aims to disseminate high-quality information in an accessible form and holds symposia and seminars on suicide.
In 2004 the government’s youth strategy was extended to include action against suicide for New Zealanders of all ages. The New Zealand suicide prevention strategy 2006–2016 has ambitious goals to:
Māori suicide
The high rate of Māori youth suicide in the 21st century has been attributed to similar factors – mental illness, drug abuse, and broken families. These have been accentuated by the social and economic deprivation of Māori.
Some have blamed the loss of language and cultural tradition. A study of Auckland Māori who attempted suicide suggested that they were less likely to speak the Māori language than the control group.
The high level of suicides among Māori is a recent phenomenon. Until the 1950s it was about half the general rate. Then the numbers increased and from 1996 Māori levels of suicide became higher than non-Māori. Māori suicides were heavily concentrated among the young. In 2001 the male youth suicide rate (ages 15–24) was 38.9 per 100,000, compared with 29.2 for non-Māori. About a quarter of Māori male suicides occurred in prison. Older Māori continued to have a lower level of suicide than young Māori.
In traditional Māori culture, suicide was associated with those who were bereaved or shamed. Women sometimes killed themselves following the death of their husband.
promote mental health and wellbeing, and prevent mental health problems
improve the care of people who are experiencing mental disorders associated with suicidal behaviors
improve the care of people who make non-fatal suicide attempts
reduce access to the means of suicide
promote the safe reporting and portrayal of suicidal behavior by the media
support families, friends and others affected by a suicide or suicide attempt
expand the evidence about rates, causes, and effective interventions.
The aim of this strategy was to help reduce a major cause of distress in New Zealand.